Tuesday, April 18, 2017

Spinning a story of a joyous marriage to make a dying woman happy is forgivable, isn’t it?

A CHARMED LITTLE LIE

Charmed in Texas #1

Sharla Lovelace

Releasing April 18th, 2017

Lyrical Shine

Lanie
Barrett didn’t mean to lie. Spinning a story of a joyous marriage to make a
dying woman happy is forgivable, isn’t it? Lanie thinks so, especially since
her beloved Aunt Ruby would have been heartbroken to know the truth of her
niece’s sadly loveless, short-of-sparkling existence. Trouble is, according to
the will, Ruby didn’t quite buy Lanie’s tale. And to inherit the only house
Lanie ever really considered a home, she’ll have to bring her “husband” back to
Charmed, Texas for three whole months—or watch Aunt Ruby’s cozy nest go to her
weasel cousin, who will sell it to a condo developer.

Nick McKane
is out of work, out of luck, and the spitting image of the man Lanie described.
He needs money for his daughter’s art school tuition, and Lanie needs a
convenient spouse. It’s a match made . . . well, not quite in heaven, but for a
temporary arrangement, it couldn’t be better. Except the longer Lanie and Nick
spend as husband and wife, the more the connection between them begins to seem
real. Maybe this modern fairy tale really could come true . . .

Excerpt
#3

I didn’t look back, and I didn’t
care. Nick’s hand was warm in mine, and when we reached the dance floor they’d
cleared a space for, he tugged back gently to make me turn around. The look in
those dark eyes nearly took out my knees. He pulled me into his arms, leaving
no room for imagination, and I let my hands slide up his chest to his neck, and
around back as his eyelids grew heavy.

Roberta Flack crooned softly,the
first time…ever I saw your face…And
something in me went warm from head to toe. Something besides whatever was in
that punch. Something more real than that.

“Nice save.”

“I tried.”

“How was the punch?” he asked.

I wound my fingers into his
hair and pulled his head down.

“See for yourself,” I said, the
last word finished against his lips.

Sparks ignited throughout my
body as our lips met. Soft. Slow. Wet. Needing. Our bodies moved as one with
the music, so close, so tightly pressed together I could feel his heart
beating. My hands traveled slowly back down his chest and around his middle as
his came up into my hair. When his tongue ran over my top lip, I knew he could
feel my gasp. And when I pulled him in deeper to taste him, I felt the low
growl in his chest rumbling against mine.

His fingers twisted in my hair
as he dove deep and then pulled back, deep again and back, teasing me, pulling
back to kiss my lips one at a time, as I kept clinging tighter. I was drunk on
it. Breathing shallow. My fingers curling into his shirt with the need formore.

The first time…ever I
kissed…your lips…

It was erotic, the way he
kissed me. The way I kissed him. Slow, matching our movements. Intimate.
Electric and emotional at the same time. And so full of desire and barely
restrained need, that my body was trembling with it when he held my face and
leaned his forehead against mine.

I wanted to keep my eyes
closed. Absorb the feel of him, the song, the words, the taste. Just hold on to
it a little longer. But I felt the heat of his gaze and my eyes fluttered open.
And everything inside me turned to liquid fire. No one—ever—had looked at me
like that. Hadwantedme
like that. The mirror image of what was churning inside me was all over him. In
the desire mixed with the trouble haunting his eyes. This wasn’t the game. That
thought hit me like a sucker punch to the gut. This was—

His mouth covered mine again,
hungrier, hotter, and I melted into it. The burn in my chest at the realization
of just how fucking real this was, stole at my breath, and I didn’t care. It
was more than we were supposed to be doing but—God, it was so good. It was so
good my heart felt like it was swelling to the size of the room. Wrapping
around us as his hands cradled my face and he broke from the kiss, moving his
lips along my face, my cheeks, back to my lips, both of us breathing fast. It
wasmore. Nick
was giving me the more. It wasn’t just physical; it was bursting inside me.

When he pulled me to him, I
buried my face in his neck and held him as tightly as I could as the words
slowed to an end. I didn’t want it to be over. I didn’t want to let go.

I could hear my heart in my ears,
pounding with every breath. He smelled like soap and something woodsy and Nick,
and I always knew that but being up close enough to lick him made the smell
intoxicating.

The music stopped.

The lighting was
changing. I had to let go of him, and the second I moved he backed up too. Just
a little. Just enough for me to see the mouth I’d just gotten to know
intimately. His gaze fell to my lips as well, before dragging up to my eyes.
Things had changed. In the course of time it took for that song to make its
evolution, our reality had shifted. And the real kicker was that I think we
both knew it already had.

Sharla Lovelace is the bestselling, award-winning author of sexy small-town love stories. Being a Texas girl through and through, she’s proud to say she lives in Southeast Texas with her retired husband, a tricked-out golf cart, and two crazy dogs. She is the author of five stand-alone novels including the bestselling Don’t Let Go, the exciting Heart Of The Storm series, and the fun and sexy new Charmed in Texas series.

For more about Sharla's books, visit www.sharlalovelace.com, and keep up with all her new book releases easily by subscribing to her newsletter. She loves keeping up with her readers, and you can connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.